by Eric Vall
The half-elf reached out and grasped one of my hands. Then, she brought it up between us, and her slender index finger traced the silver line that marked me as different, as a mage of metal, the first in existence.
“I believe the gods brought you to Illaria for a reason,” Aurora whispered as she flicked her eyes up to meet mine again. “I believe you are meant to help us, meant to save us, Mason. And the more that I think about it, I believe that… perhaps… you’re even meant to help me.”
“Help you with what?” I asked as I leaned back toward her luscious pink lips.
Aurora drew her plump, bottom lip into her mouth and then softly admitted, “Help me learn to love. You make me feel things I have never felt for anyone in my entire life, Mason. Perhaps it is because I have been waiting for you.”
“I think I might have been waiting for you, too,” I confessed as I thought back on all my failed relationships and how I could never seem to connect with anyone on Earth, no matter how beautiful or passionate or smart. Then again, no one could have held a candle to the drop-dead gorgeous and courageous blue-haired half-elf in front of me.
“What do we do now?” Aurora asked as he looked back into my eyes. “I am not familiar with these kinds of things.”
“Well, I’m going to kiss you now, and I’m only going to stop if you explicitly tell me to,” I rasped as my hands flexed against the curves of her hips. It was taking everything in me not to ravish her right here, right now.
“Who says I want you to stop?” Aurora replied huskily, and then I was gone.
Desire surged through my body like a red-hot flood. I swiftly pressed myself chest to chest with the half-elf. Aurora gasped as she felt my racing heartbeat and the hard length that was now flush against her thigh. Before she could say another word, I dipped her low and pressed my mouth against hers. As gently as I could, I lay her in the grass half a dozen feet from where the horses grazed. Then I held myself over the beautiful half-elf and simply looked down at her.
Aurora glanced back at me with her eyes hooded passionately and her lips swollen from my kisses. She lifted her arms to wrap around my neck again and pull me down on top of her. As my fingers worked to push the hem of her white robe over her hips, I lost myself in the feeling of Aurora’s smooth skin.
It seemed like we might be a little late returning to Serin after all, but Abrus could sure as hell wait.
Chapter 11
By the time Aurora and I eventually returned to Serin, the sun was high in the noon sky, and both of us were eager to report our success, eat a quick meal, and then spend the night making love, but as we approached the gate, one of the guards made urgent gestures for us to come see him.
“What is the matter?” Aurora asked as we stopped our horses in front of the man.
“I heard congratulations are in order!” the man said as he clapped his armored hands together and smiled at us both.
“I-I beg your pardon?” Aurora had stammered as she stroked at the back of her head. After our tumble in the forest, I guessed Aurora was worried about stray twigs or blades of grass giving us away.
“A messenger arrived just after dawn to sing a tale of your victory over the hydra, Defender Solana,” the guard explained excitedly.
“Oh,” Aurora groaned as her face went red, and I surreptitiously glanced down to make sure that I had laced my breeches up correctly and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw I had.
His eyes roved over the pair of us before they latched on to the rifle strapped to the side of the saddle. “It is said that you slew the beast with a new weapon, one so fearsome it laid the hydra low in the blink of an eye.”
“It was more like two blinks,” I replied as I pulled the rifle into my lap and patted it affectionately.
Goreth leaned forward eagerly to get a better view of the long metallic weapon. “Can I see? How does it work?” He reached out as if to touch it, but I carefully moved it out of his grasp.
“While I would love nothing more than to give a demonstration,” I began with an apologetic smile, “Mage Abrus is expecting us. We have important matters to relate and discuss.”
“Of course,” the guard said as he snapped to attention. “I apologize for the delay.”
Even though his eyes were still locked on the rifle, he ushered us through the gate quickly, and we rode our horses into the city.
The guard wasn’t the only person who had heard the news of our victory over the hydra. As we wove our way through the streets of the capital, nearly everyone that we passed stared at us as if we were the two-headed monster, not the slayers of one. Most people blatantly whispered and pointed though few were brave enough to actually approach us. The ones that were courageous enough were typically guards or other mages, except for the original messenger from Edhil.
He was just a young lad, no more than sixteen, and he approached us as we left the tradesmen’s quarter with soot still fresh on his face.
“Thank you, Defenders Solana and Flynt,” the boy had said at the entrance to the craftsmen’s gate. I didn’t correct him on calling me a Defender since he had his head bowed and he picked nervously at his black fingernails. “You saved my family and village from complete destruction.”
“The distance between here and your village is no small feat, especially without a horse,” Aurora remarked with a soft smile. “I am impressed.”
“I thought the kingdom should know of your heroics,” the boy replied as he blushed and lifted his chin a little proudly. “The hydra would have killed us all if it were not for the two of you and your all-powerful weapon.”
“The king and kingdom will be grateful for your message,” Aurora responded as she leaned down off her horse and placed her hand encouragingly atop the boy’s head. “There is reason to hope again. With Terra Mage Mason’s new weapons, the Order can once and for all vanquish any threats to Illaria.”
The boy looked up with awed eyes and a besotted expression. Funnily enough, I probably had the same look whenever I gazed at Aurora.
“I will tell the people,” he swore ardently.
“I’m more concerned that you get home safely,” Aurora smiled gently in response and then pressed a few gold coins into the boy’s palm. “And buy some food from the marketplace before you leave. Find a man named Owin and his son Theo. Tell them I sent you. They will give you a fair price.”
“Thank you, Defender Solana,” the boy gushed as he bowed again. He kept bowing even as we slipped through the second gate deeper into the capital.
“Do you think he’ll stand there bowing all day?” I joked once we were far out of earshot and out of sight of the gate.
“Leave the boy be,” Aurora admonished with a barely suppressed smile. “He is grateful.”
“He’s smitten,” I countered with a grin.
“Are you sure you are not projecting?” the half-elf teased as she threw a smirk over her shoulder.
“Oh, I am.” I laughed. My blood sang with desire as I recalled our earlier roll in the forest, the feel of the blue-haired maiden’s smooth legs beneath my palms, the taste of the sweet column of her throat and the valley between her luscious breasts.
Aurora smirked as she met my eyes, and I guessed she also remembered our pleasurable detour outside of Edhil. If Abrus weren’t probably waiting at the door of the Oculus for us, I would be whisking the gorgeous half-elf off to one of our bedrooms to spend the next few days in hot and heavy isolation.
But, alas, we had duties to attend to, like the good of the kingdom and all that jazz. So instead of reacquainting myself with the curve of Aurora’s ribcage and the taste of her skin, I forced myself to focus on the tasks ahead of us, namely reporting to Abrus without a raging erection.
Funnily enough, the Lux Mage wasn’t actually waiting on the inside of the Oculus’s front door.
Instead, he had sent a young novice to stand in his place.
“You are to report to Mage Abrus’ office immediately,” the young novice informed us. I could tel
l she was another Lux Mage by her unsettling two-toned eyes, one white and one blue, and I guessed that she was probably a personal student of Abrus’.
“Thank you, Mage Emblin,” Aurora replied with a formal bow of her head. “Once we’ve returned the horses to the stables--”
“No,” the Lux Mage novice interrupted. “Mage Abrus wanted to see you as soon as you returned. I am to take charge of the horses.”
She held out her slim hand expectantly, and Aurora almost winced.
“They’ll need to be watered, brushed, and fed,” the half-elf instructed as she slid from Nerfrina’s back. I followed her lead and then unbuckled my bag and rifle from the saddle.
“Of course, Defender Solana,” the novice intoned as she took the horses’ reins from the two of us. When she turned to me, her eyes slid to the gun in my opposite hand. It seemed news from Edhil had reached even as high as the Oculus.
I wondered if that meant the news had reached the king.
That was a strange thought that the king might now know my name.
Once we left the novice with our horses, we quickly made our way to Abrus’ office. It was built high into the inner walls of the mountain, and we had to climb flights and flights of stairs to reach it.
“I knew we should have returned sooner,” the half-elf fretted as we wound and climbed our way through the tunnel like halls of the Oculus. As we walked, she tugged at the hair around her pointed ears and worried at her bottom lip.
“I think after our valiant deeds last night, we deserved a small respite.” I smirked, and then I reached out and pinched one of the half-elf’s ample cheeks right below the hem of her incredibly short robe.
“Stop that.” She swatted at my hand, but her eyes glinted mischievously when she glanced back to me. “We cannot behave like this in front of Abrus. He would find it rather unbecoming, and I do not wish to anger him further.”
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” I said with a frown. “So we spent a few extra hours helping Edhil rebuild. So what?”
“So,” Aurora replied pointedly as she pursed her lips, “this is not how the Order conducts business. There are protocols in place, certain channels to go through. Abrus does not like for us to deviate from our orders and duties.”
“The people of Edhil were homeless a few hours ago,” I argued as I began to feel frustrated. “It took us less than half a day to give them all new homes. What was I meant to do? Shrug and tell that boy and his mother sorry? Was I meant to stand by even though it was well in my power to make a difference?”
“Well, no,” Aurora responded as her frown deepened. “I-I do not have the time to argue this with you right now, Mason. Abrus is waiting, and he will only grow angrier the longer we dawdle. We must go.”
“Do you think I was wrong?” I challenged. “Do you regret the time we spent between defeating the hydra and now?”
I was referring to both the reconstruction of Edhil and our time spent together in the woods. By the look in Aurora’s eye, she knew this. My heart skipped a beat as I waited for her response.
“No,” the half-elf finally replied in a quiet voice. Her hand twitched, and she brushed her finger against the back of my hand. “No, you were not wrong, Mason, and I do not regret it. Not for a moment.”
Warmth spread through my chest at her declaration, and all I wanted was to sweep the gorgeous maiden into my arms.
“Good,” I said as a goofy grin worked its way onto my face. “I don’t either.”
Aurora smiled back softly in return, and my heart thumped out an infatuated beat. God, the half-elf was just so drop-dead beautiful.
“As much as I would like to continue this conversation,” Aurora said teasingly, “we really have to hurry. Let us try to direct Abrus away from the topic of our tardiness as quickly as possible. I will give him a succinct summary of last night’s events in Edhil. Then, you’ll show him the finished weapons and provide details about their construction and success. Hopefully, with enough information, our slight of protocol will be overlooked.”
“I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal,” I muttered again, but one sharp look from Aurora had me holding up my hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. I’ll pour enough info and detail on Abrus to make his head spin. He won’t even remember to be cross with us, I swear.”
“Thank you,” Aurora huffed primly, and then she spun on her heel and continued her march toward the Lux Mage’s office.
We finished the rest of our journey in silence. The mages of the Oculus were a little more tactful than the average citizen of Serin, but I could still feel the weight of everyone’s eyes as we passed. Whispers seemed to bounce off the stone walls of the mountain and amplify until I was sure the entire Order was talking about the hydra, Aurora, and me. By the time we finally arrived at Abrus’ office, I felt like we had walked the gauntlet to get there.
“You would think we were the first to slay a hydra,” I muttered to Aurora just before we reached Abrus’ door. Behind us, a trio of mage novices scuttled down the hallway, their eyes latched onto our backs.
Aurora cocked her head to the side in confusion. Then, her eyes went wide with realization.
“What?” I asked with a frown. “What is it?”
“I do not believe we are the only source of gossip at the moment,” the half-elf murmured in reply. Her eyes went wide with disbelief and then she spun around to inspect me. “Stand up a little straighter. Good, like that. Now, I need you to be on your best behavior when we walk through these doors. Do you understand, Mason?”
Before I even had the chance to answer, the door in front of us swung open.
“Defender Solana,” Mage Abrus greeted as he filled the doorway. His severe face looked even more admonishing than usual as his two-toned eyes flicked over to me. “Terra Mage Flynt. How kind of you to grace us with your presence at last.”
“Us?” I asked, but before the grouchy old man could answer, he stepped aside, and Aurora grabbed my hand. Then she pulled me inside behind her.
Abrus’ office looked largely the same as it had the last time I had seen it a few days ago. With the notable exception of half a dozen royal guards stationed around the perimeter of the room. My gaze was immediately drawn to Abrus’ desk, where a middle-aged man stood inspecting his surroundings as if it had been some time since he had been in this room.
From his lack of a robe, I could tell he wasn’t a mage but from the golden crown that sat atop his head, I could also infer something else.
“Your Majesty,” Abrus said as he came up behind Aurora and me. “I apologize for the delay. Here are the mages that fought in Edhil as you requested.”
The king of Illaria turned and regarded us coolly. He was a plain looking man, with brunette hair, a trimmed beard, and brown eyes. There was nothing remarkable about his face except for the crown that sat above it. However, he didn’t look cruel or evil. If anything, he looked… normal, simply a plain, normal-seeming guy.
“Your Highness,” Aurora murmured reverentially as she bowed her head low. “I am Defender Aurora Solana. It is an honor of the highest order being in your presence.”
King Temin nodded in acknowledgment. “I have heard your tales, Defender Solana. You are a fierce warrior that has protected this kingdom many times over, most recently I hear in the town of Edhil. Illaria and I thank you for your dedication and service.”
“It is the least I could do, Your Majesty,” Aurora replied with her eyes downcast. I remembered how Aurora said she would be dead without the Order if Abrus hadn’t taken her in. By extension, I guessed the half-elf owed the king as well for her position.
The king’s eyes then slid over to me, and a more calculating look entered his brown gaze. “You are a stranger to me, Terra Mage, though Abrus has assured me you mean to work for, and not against, Illaria.”
“Abrus speaks true,” I replied smoothly with my own respectful bow. “My name is Mason Flynt, Your Grace. I am an orphan from a faraway kingdom. I came to
Illaria in search of instruction regarding my magus abilities. In exchange for this instruction, I have sworn to protect Illaria to the best of my abilities.”
“And from what I’ve heard, your abilities are greater than most,” King Temin mused. As he said this, his eyes slid to the bag at my hip and the rifle I had slung over my shoulder. I wonder how much Abrus had actually told him and how much the Lux Mage had glossed over.
“They are certainly different, Your Majesty,” I replied with a grin. My heart fluttered a little nervously in the birdcage of my ribs as I adjusted the rifle’s strap across my chest. “Would you care for a demonstration?”
“I think I would prefer an explanation first,” King Temin replied as he lifted his gaze back up to mine. “How you first came upon these powers, for example, and then how you went about crafting these weapons that supposedly slew a hydra in a single blow. I would also like a first-hand account of what transpired in Edhil if you do not mind. Marketplace gossip can prove useful in many ways, but honest facts can be a little harder to come by.”
The king said all this very casually. A smile even pulled at the corner of his mouth, as if he were speaking to friends and not an advisor, a soldier, and a stranger.
I decided I liked King Temin.
“Of course,” I responded with a wide smile. “I’d be happy to, Your Highness.”
“And enough with that ‘majesty’ and ‘highness’ nonsense as well,” the king grumbled as he waved a hand dismissively. “If you really feel you must, you can call me sir, but Temin works just as well, seeing that it is my gods given name. I cannot convince Abrus or any other member of the Order of this, but perhaps you will be different in this as well, Mason Flynt.”